The Pink Sox are sending infielder/outfielder Kristian Campbell to Triple-A, reviews Jeff Passan of ESPN. Outfielder Wilyer Abreu will seemingly be activated off the injured checklist tomorrow, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. The Sox are off at present however begin a sequence in San Francisco tomorrow.
It’s been an eventful year-plus for Campbell. He tore by means of the minors in 2024, slashing .330/.439/.558 for a wRC+ of 178, climbing from Excessive-A to Double-A and Triple-A within the course of. That vaulted him up prospect lists coming into 2025 and put him in place to make his main league debut this yr.
Not solely did he crack the Opening Day roster however the Sox dedicated to him for the long run. Campbell and the membership agreed to an eight-year, $60MM extension in early April, with the deal additionally containing membership choices for 2033 and 2034.
Campbell’s massive league profession bought out to a robust begin, at the least offensively. By April twenty ninth, he was sitting on a line of .313/.420/.515 for a 161 wRC+. He was hanging out at a 25.2% clip but additionally strolling in 16% of his plate appearances. However since then, he’s gone ice chilly, with a .154/.236/.215 line and 25 wRC+. He has been punched out in 29.2% of his plate appearances in that latter stretch whereas solely drawing walks at a 6.9% tempo.
His glovework has additionally been lower than supreme, to place it mildly. In 471 2/3 innings at second base, he has been credited with -14 Defensive Runs Saved and -8 Outs Above Common, making him one of many worst defenders within the majors this yr. He has additionally performed some outfield and the Sox had him strive some first base work within the wake of the Triston Casas damage, however he nonetheless hasn’t performed there in any recreation motion.
Regardless of his former prospect standing and large contract, Campbell remains to be pretty inexperienced as knowledgeable baseball participant. He had simply 137 minor league video games beneath his belt previous to this yr and has now added 67 main league contests. Even the highest prospects can generally wrestle when first uncovered to main league play, so Campbell should have a vivid main league future forward of him, regardless of his current chilly stretch. However the Sox are taking part in significant baseball proper now, presently tied for the ultimate American League Wild Card spot, so that they’ll ship him all the way down to the minors in an try and get him again on observe.
The Sox have had a reasonably crowded roster this yr, because of the presence of prospects comparable to Campbell in addition to Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony. Moreover, they signed Alex Bregman to cowl third base and bumped Rafael Devers into the designated hitter slot.
In current weeks, issues have turn into far much less crowded. Bregman is now on the injured checklist and Devers has been traded to the Giants. David Hamilton has began the previous three video games at second base however is hitting .172/.206/.269 this yr, so he shouldn’t be cemented into the place. Mayer is overlaying third however might maybe slide over to second when Bregman is able to come off the IL, although a return from Campbell might be a chance down the highway as effectively.
Abreu will be part of an outfield combine that additionally contains Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela and Anthony, although the open DH spot might enable all 4 of them to share a lineup repeatedly. Masataka Yoshida might additional crowd that group if he can come off the IL, which might put some stress on Anthony, who’s hitting simply .074/.194/.222 up to now. That’s a tiny pattern of 9 video games however he wouldn’t be immune from getting the identical remedy as Campbell. The Sox are anticipated to purchase on the deadline in the event that they dangle within the Wild Card race and their targets could also be impacted by how this recreation of musical chairs performs out.
Picture courtesy of Kevin Jairaj, Imagn Photos
